Mortal Wounds
by Inky Iris
Summary: Tired of Valerie risking her life ghost fighting, her father sends her to stay with her uncle in California for a while.
1. Chapter 1

This crossover category has a criminal lack of Valerie. I've had this idea for a long while. I went to sum this up on the Phandom chat and ended up writing this instead. It's extremely short, but I wanted to put it up anyway. I am not sure when it'll be updated, sorry ^^'

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Valerie made sure to stay as quiet as possible as she slipped through her window. Her dad worked late more often than not, so it wasn't like she needed to be so cautious. There was nothing to worry about.

She was positive of that until the bedroom light flipped on. Shoot.

"Valerie, give me the suit." Her dad didn't even bother to be angry - he just sounded tired.

She smiled at him, widening her eyes. "Daddy, I was just out flying because I couldn't sleep." They both knew how fake she sounded tonight. Her smile stretched into more of a grimace and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Valerie."

She dropped the act. "Fine," was her short reply. The suit fell away from her body and assembled, folded, in her arms. She wasn't sure what made it work, but she wasn't interested in the mechanics now. The teen watched her father cross the room and take the suit impassively.

The man shook his head. "I don't know how you keep getting this back. This is the fourth time this week. This needs to end, Valerie."

At the words, her already frayed temper snapped. "It will!" She snarled, not bothering to modulate her tone, "When Phantom's _dead_!"

"No!" Her father barked back. Val stopped in shock. Her dad _never_ yelled at her. "This ends now, Valerie! I _will not_ lose you too!"

"You can't stop me." She breathed heavily. "I will get my suit back and keep going out after Phantom until he is _destroyed_ and Danny's-" She stopped at that, fists clenched.

In return, her dad shook his head. "This isn't healthy, Valerie."

"I don't care!" Her nails bit into her palms. Phantom would _pay_ for what he'd done. He would regret ever coming to Amity Park.

Her father closed his eyes and took a breath. "I can. I'm sending you to live with your uncle."

Eyes widening, Valerie shook her head. "No, you can't do that. You can't make me go." She lifted her chin assertively.

"I've already signed you up for school. You have a plane ticket for noon tomorrow. You should pack what you can take and I'll ship whatever else you need."

He was serious. Valerie stepped forward as he turned to leave the room. "Mom never talked to him! I think I met him once! What if he's crazy? I _have_ to stay here. I'll stop hunting Phantom." They both knew that was a lie.

"You've had your chance, Valerie." His shoulders were lined with exhaustion. "I can't lose you. This is the only way I can think of to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What if something happens?" She had to stay in Amity. This couldn't be happening. What if Phantom showed up and she wasn't there to stop him this time?

"Then you come home." Her father sighed. "This isn't forever, Val. Just until I know you won't do anything reckless and get hurt."

"What if he's crazy?" She tried. Her dad wasn't budging. "Mom didn't talk to him for a reason!"

The man sighed heavily. "I know. I don't know what else to do with you, Valerie." The words stung. Now she was just someone to be done with? The words completely invalidated her opinions and emotions. Her dad had never reduced her like that before. "I talked to him and he seemed fine. If it goes wrong, I'll bring you home. Give him a chance."

"But _Dad_-" She was cut off as he shut the door.

Valerie stood panting for a moment before she whirled and kicked her desk chair. She couldn't leave. Not when there was so much uncertainty and Phantom was still out there and might hurt someone else she cared about. But what could she do? Her old friends wouldn't let her stay with them, Danny's family was going through enough right now, and she didn't know Sam and Tucker very well.

She kicked the chair again. It looked like tomorrow she would be on her way to live with her Uncle Wilson. She'd make sure she was sent back as soon as possible. She barely remembered his first name - she thought it might be Slade - and the only thing she knew was Mom had never talked to him or about him. That had to mean something was wrong. It didn't matter. She'd be back in Amity Park in two weeks and she would _destroy_ Phantom.

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How did I do with writing Valerie? I want to do her justice because she's fabulous. Let me know if you see any terrible mistakes or out of character sections. Leave a review with your thoughts!


	2. Chapter 2

So this came quicker than I expected. Still short though. I planned to have more ITD before I had this, but I've been writing a female protag for three months and it was easier to continue in that vein XD The amazing tazdeval gave me Slad talking advice ^^ Thanks!

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Plane flights always made Valerie groggy, even if it was as short as across the country. She'd argued with her dad that morning about not going for an hour before she'd given up and tried to sneak her suit into her luggage so she could just fly back. That hadn't worked either. She'd ended up exactly where her dad wanted her - on the plane with regular clothes, a carry-on that had no weapons or ghost detection devices, and a mortifying, giant pin she had to wear on her shirt that declared her an unaccompanied minor. The airport in Jump City was crowded, just like she'd expected it to be. She was supposed to meet her uncle at the baggage claim.

Of course, it would be easier if she knew what he looked like. They had absolutely no pictures of the man and Valerie could barely remember him. He was tall and had a beard or moustache or something, but that was all that came to mind. Maybe she'd never find him and in a few hours, she could just call her dad and he'd have to bring her home. It probably wouldn't work, but it was a chance, right?

"Valerie?"

The unfamiliar voice came from her right and she turned sharply, caught off guard. "Who's asking?"

A tall, white haired man stood, head turned to his own right to scan the airport warily. "Would that be a yes?"

"It depends on who's asking." Was this her uncle? He was tall and had facial hair, but that wasn't enough to be able to assume.

The slightest smirk appeared on the man's face, still turned away. "I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. It has been a long time. You look like your mother." He finally turned to look at her fully.

She gasped, one hand covering her mouth. "Your eye!" His right eye was covered with an eyepatch and she _definitely_ didn't remember that.

Her uncle's expression hardened. So much for first impressions.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Her hand fell and she looked down to fiddle with the zipper of her carry-on. She shouldn't have reacted like that. She'd just been surprised. She needed to learn better self-control or she could get hurt if she just reacted in surprise during a fight. She'd also been incredibly rude.

"Well, it is new since you last saw me," his voice was strained. "Let's go." He started away, not even looking back to see if Valerie was following. With a sigh, Val hefted her carry-on and followed. At this rate, it wouldn't even be two weeks before she was sent back to Amity Park.

She nearly lost him several times in the crowd, but kept herself alert enough to catch a glimpse of his hair or dark coat in seconds. He didn't stop until they got into the parking garage and he unlocked a sleek car, getting in without a word. Val got in the passenger side, putting her bag at her feet. They left quietly, out of the structure before her uncle said anything else.

"I won't be around a lot. I have a lot at work. Stay out of trouble because I won't be there to get you out of it."

Valerie stiffened. "I don't get into trouble."

The man looked over at her before turning back to the road. How did he drive with only half his vision? "You're here for a reason. You got into some sort of trouble. I'm not saying you didn't think you were justified, but you need to take responsibility for your own actions instead of pushing them off. Even if it was an accident, you need to be accountable."

Great. She hadn't been here an hour and she was already getting lectured. This was going to be fun. Staring out the window, Valerie didn't even bother arguing. She was too tired to speak up in her defense.

Her uncle sighed. "Do you have any questions on how this is going to work?"

Valerie echoed his sigh. "Can't you just send me back?"

There was a pause. "I don't back down from my commitments."

So much for that. "How long do I need to be here?"

"For as long as you need to be. The apartment is a few blocks from the school. As I said, I won't be there much, so you'll need to be self-sufficient. Stay out of trouble. Don't poke around. Jump City can be dangerous. If the Titans are in the area, get out of it."

Did he think she was stupid? "Yeah."

To Valerie's surprise, she heard a slight laugh from her uncle. She looked at him. "What?"

"You're just like your mother."

The words warmed her. She missed her mom a lot. "Why didn't we ever see you? Did you and her not get along?"

He paused for a moment. "She didn't like my involvement with the military."

"You're in the army?"

"Not anymore."

Valerie sat back in her seat. "So are Aunt Adelaide and Grant and Joey at the apartment?" The names came back to her easily. A stern but kind woman and her cousins she'd kept away from because they were boys with 'cooties'.

There was another pause. "It's been ten years since we all saw you and almost as long since I've communicated with your family. A lot has happened. I'm no longer married and Grant passed away years ago."

Her stomach dropped. "Oh. I'm sorry." From what she remembered, Grant had been nice. She wished she could remember more now that she'd never get the chance to get to know him.

"It was a long time ago."

"Uncle Wilson?"

"Slade."

So she'd been right about his first name. "Please just send me back. I'll be out of your hair." And she'd be able to get back at Phantom for what he'd done.

"No. I don't go back on my commitments. Just give it a try. You might be surprised."

The teen slumped in her seat, folding her arms. "Fine." She'd get him to send her back somehow.

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I am _not_ good with Val or civilian Slade, so I have no idea why I thought I'd be good to write this XD Let me know how much I massacred them, along with what you did and didn't like. I hope you enjoyed!


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